Apologies on the tardiness, an early-morning work emergency kept me away from here thus far. I see that you guys have been busy in the comment section under the previous post, however…

David Ortiz hit a three-run blast off Rays starter James Shields to get things started for the Red Sox offense as they powered to an 8-5 win over Tampa last night at Fenway Park. Check out RedSoxLinks.com for ALL the coverage.

The bigger story this morning involved Celtics captain Paul Pierce, who has opted out of the final year of his contract and will be a free agent when the period opens tonight at midnight.

Despite opt-out, expect Pierce to stay – A. Sherrod Blakely expects Pierce to stay right here. Ian Thomsen of SI was on WEEI today and said that Dallas might make a push for Pierce if he is available.

Free agent frenzy – In an article posted later in the morning, Paul Flannery looks at realistic FA options for the Celtics.

The Truth? Pierce decision may be a blessing – Tony Massarotti thinks Pierce opting out is a good thing for the Celtics. Masserotti and Michael Felger have been talking for weeks about the probability of Pierce opting out, well before it was being discussed by many others.

The first dominoes have yet to fall, but this is a huge few days for the future of the Boston Celtics. In some form or another, we’ll find out the immediate future of Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers and Ray Allen.

Here’s your top ten articles this morning:

Hey Danny Ainge, time to be bold – Gerry Callahan tells the Celtics executive that should Pierce choose to opt out of his contract, the Celtics should let him walk and go pursue a younger option.

Idle thought: When you saw the highlights of the heated Evan Longoria/B.J. Upton exchange in the Tampa Rays dugout last weeekend, did you immediately think of how Dennis & Callahan would easily get a week’s worth of shows from that incident, and which side they would take?

The Red Sox beat the San Francisco Giants for the second straight day, but also lost a key member of the team to an injury for the third straight game. Catcher Victor Martinez took a foul tip off his thumb, leading to a fracture of the digit. Jon Lester pitched a complete-game five-hitter as Boston defeated ace Tim Lincecum and the rest of the Giants 5-1 at AT&T Park.

Silverman has more on the injury to Victor Martinez, the latest Red Sox regular to fall. Barbarisi says that the options are few for the Sox if Martinez has to go on the DL.

Sean McAdam has the Red Sox handling some of the NL’s best arms in this stretch. Peter Abraham has the Red Sox getting to Lincecum, just the latest in a line of big-name pitchers Boston has handled.

Benjamin’s notebook says that Martinez may not have to go on the DL. Lauber’s notebook has more on the Red Sox success against the major’s best. Barbarisi’s Red Sox Journal says that Clay Buchholz may not miss a start after having to come out of Saturday’s game with a hyperextended knee. McAdam’s notebook has Lester saving the bullpen with his complete-game effort.

Misc

Joe McDonald wonders if Bruins draftee Tyler Seguin will have a similar rookie season to that of the Islanders’ John Tavares. Joe Haggerty says that the development path for Seguin is a simple one. Steve Conroy says that the draft is just the start of what will be a busy offseason for the Bruins.

Mark Murphy looks at the start of an important week for the Celtics. Rich Levine looks at the crop of available big men in NBA free agency.

Jeff Howe looks at which Patriots receiver will step up to be the team’s third option this season.

Baylor is feeling skipped over in managerial mix – Nick Cafardo’s baseball notes have Don Baylor wondering why he can’t get another chance in the big chair. Nick also thinks that it is super-cool that “Astros catcher Jason Castro hails from Castro Valley, Calif.”

First, several media writers are amused by the war of words between CBS and ESPN over the most viewed broadband event ever. ESPN claimed 1.1 million people went online to watch the USA-Algeria World Cup match on Wednesday. CBS jumped in by saying, “Not so fast!” It sent out a press release saying the Duke-Butler game had more online views. And early Friday evening, ESPN sent out its reply sticking with its claim and saying CBS’ measurement of online views is rather limited. Stay tuned.

From earlier this week, John Strege of Golf Digest reviewed the U.S. Open and Chris Berman’s performance, calling him “a human vuvuzela.” (Scroll down)

East and Mid-Atlantic

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette writes about a local Wiffle ball game filled with local politicians and celebrities that will be carried on local radio and will raise money for cancer research.

I lost track of how many times I heard the phrase “laser show” on the NESN telecast last night, but I didn’t mind, as Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia put on a performance for the ages in a 13-11Red Sox win over the Colorado Rockies.

Pedroia hit three home runs on the night (including the one that eventually won the game), went 5-5, was on base six times and drive in five runs in the win.

Lots of action in the blogosphere this first week of summer, with the C’s drafting tonight, the B’s tomorrow, the U.S. taking on Guana in World Cup action Saturday, and the Sox looking for something positive on any or all of those days. We left you on the threshhold of Game 7 of the NBA Finals last week, so let’s pick up the pieces of our shattered dreams with the C’s first.

Celtics

Just a few eulogies for the C’s, then it’s time to move on. Banner 18?, whose name won’t be changing next season, brings us a Celtics fan appreciation video. Touching All The Bases wonders if disappointment will be the parting memory of a three-year ride that was a hell of a lot of fun. Celtics Stuff Live thinks the C’s need reinforcements from several sources, as running the same crew out there next year will not produce any better results.

The rebuilding begins tonight with the NBA Draft, as the C’s select 19th overall. Green Street recounts the last 25 Number 19 picks. Red’s Army looks at Danny Ainge’s legacy of strong drafts over the last seven years. Boston Sports Then And Now thinks that, with all the uncertainty over the C’s future, Ainge will again have to think outside the box this offseaason as he did in 2007. Celtics Green is looking to fill five roster slots in this year’s draft.

A little more video to close, as The Crowe’s Nest can’t make sense of Lakers fans’ air of entitlement to violence after their team won the NBA Finals.

Bruins

I must confess to not being over the devastation the B’s dumped on our doorsteps in May. I’m not ready to let them back in my life yet but better fans are, and the healing process continues tomorrow night with the second selection in the NHL Entry Draft. Michael Hurley looks back on the top ten Number 2 draft picks in NHL history. Hey, there’s really not much difference between the B’s and the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks when 4SportBoston thinks about it, as they assess some offseason needs that can get partially filled tomorrow night.

Bruins 2010 Draft Watch goes back in time to relive the hype on newly acquired forward Nathan Horton, who was drafted third overall in 2003. Bruins Insider thinks that throwing in the 15th overall pick this year was hard for GM Peter Chiarelli since the draft figures to be a deep one. Blog Of Ice calls it an expensive deal, but that’s the price of unloading Dennis Wideman. Rink Rap has Chiarelli putting his money where his mouth is by looking outside the organization for solutions to player performance “variances.”

Something’s Bruin looks at some interesting international matchups coming the B’s way in the upcoming preseason, while Stanley Cup Of Chowder breaks down the B’s 2010-2011 schedule, which was just released this week.

Red Sox

The Sox went west this week carrying a MLB-best 24-8 record since May 17, as well as a 10-2 interleague record, to Colorado on Tuesday. Surviving Grady thanks interleague play for helping the Sox to move on up. On The Soxaholix, fictional Doug is happy this run has gotten the Sox to within spitting distance of the Yankees.

Looks like the Sox will have to hock a powerful one, as they’ve slipped two games in the first two nights in Colorado, leaving Jerry Remy new and innovative ways to use the word “frustrating” in sentences. Sox & Dawgs says Tuesday night’s low-scoring affair came one game earlier than expected, as Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin was virtually unhittable. Toeing The Rubber dislikes losing the first game of a series more than anything. The Sox stopped a shut-out with a run in thee ninth, but ageless ageing Mike Lowell left the tying run on when he couldn’t beat out a grounder deep in the hole. Better Red Than Dead clocked Lowell’s time to first base as dangerously close to the bezerk barrier, while Boston Dirt Dogs has Lowell with grandmother-class speed.

Over The Monster has last night’s loss marking the end of this run of ten consecutive series either won or split. The Joy Of Sox has Lackey putting the Sox in a four-run hole with his arm, then leading the comeback with his stick. The baseball gods only give out so many gifts like last night’s four-run 6th against the best pitcher in baseball, and when they do you don’t tell them, ‘thanks but no thanks.’ Well, Jonathan Papelbon did, surrendering the lead on two pitches, then the game three batters later. Fenway West has this as Papelbon’s worst outing of the season as he was unable to save one for a mediocre Lackey.

Notwithstanding last night, Red Sox Reality Check notes the improvement of Sox pitching over each month of this season. With the success of Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester this year, Boston Sports Blog tells you the last time the Sox produced two homegrown 20-game winners. Red Sox Monster has math precluding every good Bosox performer from making this year’s All-Star Game. So much for the bridge year says Keep Your Sox On, as they have the Sox leading the Majors in a plethora of offensive categories.

Sean McAdam has something the Josh Beckett front has seen precious little of so far this year: good news. More good news from Full Count, as they report on the pretty amazing comeback of prospect Ryan Westmoreland. Jessica Isner has Lars Anderson knowing what it’s like to struggle, and also knowing he can rebound, too.

In a week filled with drama and intrigue, perhaps nothing can top the U.S. win over Algeria yesterday, as they scored the match’s only goal in stoppage time to advance into the knockout stages. ESPN Boston’s New England Revolution Blog has Landon Donovan’s goal forgiving and forgetting all the wrongs during the U.S.’s Group Stage. We’re Just Saying sees the U.S. catching up with the rest of the soccer world, and sooner or later the unthinkable is going to happen.

Over the first 90 minutes of play yesterday, Corner Kicks was slowly losing faith in humanity. No matter the winner, Masshole Sports says 1-0 soccer games have all the thrill of watching water boil. NESN’s World Cup blog has Algerian soccer player Rafik Saifi breaking down in the class department after his team’s loss. Jerry Thornton shows enormous self-restraint in not bashing the prissy, humorless world of international soccer.

Odds & Sods. . . an unstructured wandering through the Boston sports world

Six States, One Blog loves the idea of a soccer-specific stadium in New England but doesn’t figure to see the Revs moving out of Gillette any time soon.

The Red Sox had a golden opportunity for a huge win last night, after knocking out Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez, after 5 2/3 innings, scoring six runs off him in that span. Darnell McDonald finished off Jimenez with a two run homer that gave the Sox a 6-5. That score held until the bottom of the ninth, when Jonathan Papelbon first surrendered a game-tying home run to the first batter of the inning, Ian Stewart, then after giving up a single and a sacrifice bunt, Papelbon faced pinch-hitter Jason Giambi, who hit a two-run homer to give the Rockies a 8-6 win over the Red Sox.

Amalie Benjamin has a despondent Papelbon at a loss for words after the game. (Almost all the articles on this game start the same way.) Scott Lauber has the game recap in the Herald. Daniel Barbarisi has Papelbon undoing all the good work his teammates had done for nine innings. Sean McAdam has Papelbon reeling after the game from the events of the ninth.

Nick Cafardo says that the Red Sox have a number of needs to be addressed, but whether they can fill them may come down to timing. Barbarisi has Rhode Island’s Chris Iannetta trying to prove himself again.

Michael Silverman has Josh Beckett looking to get completely healthy so that he can help the Red Sox when he does return. Jeremy Lundblad has the stats to show that the outfield instability is not hurting the Red Sox.

Gordon Edes looks at just eight pitches to wipe out the “glorious improbability of Ubaldo Jimenez, the best pitcher in the National League, being knocked around by a kid who plays like every day might be his last in the big leagues…” Silverman has Papelbon dealing with the two crushing blows he gave up last night.

The Celtics begin the work of building their 2010-11 team tonight as the NBA draft is held. The Celtics currently have the 19th pick, and there are rumors of all kind out there, some that the Celtics want to move up, move down, or trade the pick for an established player. A. Sherrod Blakely has his mock draft, where he has the Celtics taking Kentucky C Daniel Orton at 19.

Scott Souza examines what the Celtics have in front of them at the moment. Howard Bryant says that Danny Ainge has performed offseason magic before, and it’s time to do it again. Mark Murphy notes some of the Celtics workouts this week, and how this pick tonight could easily become a fluid piece. Jeff Goodman says that Ainge’s drafting prowess will be tested tonight.

Acting as if he expects Ainge to keep the 19th pick, Gary Washburn says that the Celtics need to land a winner tonight. Peter May expects the team to trade the pick, hoping to land a veteran player to aid a final run for a title. Jim Fenton says that the Celtics will target immediate help. Even Buddy Thomas can see that this draft is a big one for the Celtics.

Steve Bulpett says that there a lot of people’s futures tied up in Doc Rivers’ decision to come back or not. Fenton revisits Ainge’s appearance on WEEI yesterday. Jessica Camerato looks back at all the Celtics draft picks of the last five years.

Bruins

Kevin Paul Dupont has a feature on Taylor Hall, who it appears will be the top pick in tomorrow night’s NHL draft. Mike Loftus says that the Bruins appear poised to make Tyler Seguin their pick at #2. Joe McDonald says that both of these players appear to be the real deal. Stephen Harris says that the Bruins can deal from strength this offseason.

Ian R. Rapoport examines whether we can learn from history when it comes to Logan Mankins’ agent.

John Powers looks at the huge win for the U.S. to advance in the World Cup yesterday. Ron Borges says that the win still means nothing to the majority of America’s sports fans.

Bud Collins looks at the epic John Isner/Nicolas Mahut match at Wimbledon.

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Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett will hold his fourth-annual Beckett Bowl on July 29. The event is presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino, and will be held at Lucky Strike Lanes in Boston.

The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a celebrity red carpet event. The celebrity bowling tournament will kick-off at 7:15 p.m. and festivities will conclude with a concert by country music sensation Jason Aldean at the Absolut Beckett Bowl Concert presented by MGM Grand at Foxwoods at the House of Blues Boston.

A limited number of tickets for both the bowling tournament and after party concert will be on sale through www.ticketmaster.com this Saturday, June 5th at 10 am. Tickets to attend the bowling event and concert are $250 and tickets for the concert only are $40. Fans can purchase a VIP concert ticket for $125 which includes a meet & greet with Jason Aldean and a reserved seat at the House of Blues.

Local companies and individuals are invited to sponsor four-person bowling teams for the event. Each team will be joined by a celebrity teammate and will compete for unique prize packages. For information on sponsoring a team, companies and individuals can call 617-338-2766 or visit www.beckettbowl.com.

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Celtics’ Head Coach and Ultimate Escapes Member Doc Rivers is once again partnering with leading destination club Ultimate Escapes to host his 10th annual Celebrity Golf Invitational at the Reunion Resort and Club Wyndham Grand Resort in Orlando. Coach Rivers and Ultimate Escapes, Inc are teaming up to raise money for Shepherd’s Hope, a non-profit organization of volunteers that provides access to healthcare for the uninsured using an all-volunteer staff. The tournament will include a celebrity pairings party on the evening of July 22, in which each foursome will be paired with a participating celebrity, such as NBA basketball superstar Anthony “Spud” Webb and sportscaster Craig Sager. Past celebrity participants include NBA star Julius Erving, commonly known as Dr. J, founding member of The Commodores Thomas McClary, and NBA pro Bo Outlaw. The evening will also include the Ultimate Escapes auction and raffle, where attendees will have the chance to win a variety of luxury vacation experiences. The tournament will take place on the morning of July 23

The Red Sox offense had been on fire coming into last night, and the thin air of Coors Field figured to only help the Boston bats. Instead, Jhoulys Chacin shut out the Red Sox for 6 2/3 innings, and the Red Sox didn’t score their single run until the ninth inning, as the Colorado Rockies beat the Red Sox 2-1.

Daniel Barbarisi has an extended feature on the recovery of Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland, who is optimistic about his future in baseball.

Amalie Benjamin has Mike Lowell unable to come through as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. Scott Lauber has the Herald recap on a Rocky Mountain low. Barbarisi has the Red Sox win streak coming to an end in Colorado. Sean McAdam says that this was a tough loss to swallow for the Sox.

Nick Cafardo talks to Don Baylor about Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez, and how he reminds him of Roger Clemens in 1986. Michael Silverman also has a look at Jimenez and talks to Pedro Martinez about his fellow countryman.

Silverman has the Sox griping about NL ball forcing them to take Jon Lester out of the game early. Brian MacPherson has some of the Red Sox recent draftees getting their first taste of pro ball.

Rob Bradford says that last night was another reminder of why the Red Sox should just let Mike Lowell move on. Gordon Edes says that Lowell is just doomed to fail as an occasional player.

Benjamin’s notebook has Josh Reddick getting the emergency call-up yesterday with J.D. Drew needing another day to heal. Lauber’s notebook has Lowell without much to say following his first at-bat in nine days. Barbarisi’s Red Sox Journal has more on Reddick getting the call yesterday. McAdam’s notebook has Lester suffering his first loss since April.

Bruins

Fluto Shinzawa has a feature on Tyler Seguin, who seems likely to hear his name called by the Bruins on Friday night.

Joe Haggerty says that yesterday’s trade of Dennis Wideman for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell is likely just the first of many moves coming for the Bruins. Steve Conroy has the trade aimed at making the Bruins better now. Shinzawa agrees that this move was made to boost the NHL’s worst offense right away. DJ Bean says that the Bruins must see something in Horton beyond his stats.

Mick Colageo has Peter Chiarelli admitting to a mistake with the trading of Wideman. Mike Loftus agrees that the price to obtain Horton was somewhat steep. Danny Picard has Horton happy to be coming to Boston. Joe McDonald thinks that Horton will be a good fit for the Bruins.

Celtics

Julian Benbow says that what the Celtics do tomorrow night should give us the first clues as to their offseason plans. Steve Bulpett says that though we may think this team needs a major overhaul, they had an NBA title in their hands last week, and just let it get away. Dan Duggan looks at some draft possibilities for the Celtics. Jim Fenton says that Rivers’ draft history is solid.